I did my best with a crack at this. I am tasting it right now. So delicious. Not quite Kloster Andechs, but damn is it tasty.
6.5 lb Pilsner malt
6.25 lb Munich II
0.375 lb Caramunich
0.25 lb Crystal 120L
0.25 lb chocolate malt
2.5 oz Hallertau (3.9%AA) @60mins
Double decoction mash.
Maltose rest: 146F for 90mins
Dextrinization rest: 160F for 60mins
Mashout: 170F for 15 mins
90 min total boil time
Wyeast 2487-PC Hella Bock
Est OG 1.073
Est FG 1.018
Primary fermentation: 52F 7-14days (until krausen just starts to drop, SG ~1.030)
Lagering: slowly drop temps to 35F over 2 weeks, and hold for at least 2months
In actual practice, I hit my first rest at 147F, but my decoction did not increase my temps enough and I had to add some extra hot water, and still only reached 152F. The next anomaly was that my pre-boil volume was higher due to the extra hot water I had to add for the step infusion. I changed to 3oz of hallertau because I thought it would need it for the extra volume. I ended up with 6gals post boil. When I went to transfer to glass for lagering, I only have 5gal carboys. So I transferred the extra to a 1gal jug and added oak cubes for fun. I was getting impatient, and while I wanted to lager for 3,4 or even 6 months, I was satisfied (by way of taste and smell) with 2 in the end. For the oaking, I did 0.5oz med toast added to ~0.9gals for 40 days (tasted every week or so until I found it to be just a tad too oaky, as per the recommendations I found around on HBT). I ended up with only 8 bottles of that, but boy am I excited to try some soon.
So my gravity was a tad lower, due to a higher volume. The extra 0.5oz hops might not have been necessary since it was lower gravity, but it was an on-the-fly decision. I don't think it hurts its character at all. The dextrinization step should have been higher temp, so the body may have been affected.
Heres some present day tasting notes. 17days of bottle conditioning, after using light DME for priming, targetting 2.3vols CO2.
-Big time head, perhaps not quite an equalized carbonation as its feels slightly flatter than expected. The head is beautiful, though. Big cloud of light brown foam, with excellent retention. The head reduced into a persistant, moderate cap. Crystal clear ruby brown beer. It should be a little more brown and darker overall. Perhaps due to the extra volume, perhaps I could use a darker crystal, maybe 150L.
-The aroma is distinctly bock-like. Malty, melanoidins, a tad toasty, a tad caramel. Doesnt smell like the typical darker doppelbocks, which is something I thought Andechs also did not possess: none of the deep sweetness of a rich ripe fruit. Not much of a hop aroma, which is desirable.
-Flavor is great. Malty, a little toasty, lightly sweet. Clean, with just a tad bit of bittering that only serves to make it taste like beer, and no distinct hop quality shows through.
-Mouthfeel is too light for the style. It is very light, quite refreshing and really makes it deceptively drinkable. I think its awesome, but its not stylistically correct. Clearly due to my missed decoction temp. Could also be that it is a tad under-carbed, which may improve in a couple weeks time (but may also only serve to give it more effervescence and therefore more crisp and light).
-Overall I am in love with the beer in general. The cloning still needs to be refined. I would hope that a proper pre- and post-boil volume would get the color right, and that a corrected mash temp would make the body just a shade thicker. I dont see myself really messing with any of the malts until I brew it again, or if someone else does and gets the process tight and perfect with similar results.
Hope this is helpful.
